Author: DOUGLAS WOOSLEY

I JUST LEARNED THAT I WON $25.000 DLLARS A MONTH FROM PUBLISHERS CLEARING HOUSE.SO I HAVE PICKED OUT SOME LAKEFRONT PROPERTYFOR ME AND MY GIRL. NOW I CAN GROW CROPS ON MY PROPERTY,START CONTRACTS WITH ALL THE BIG STORE NAMES.AND REAL ESTATE INVESTING. HANGING IN THERE.AND PRAYING FOR MY BLESSING. THANKS AND GOD BLESS.AMEN.LETS TELL CONGRESS TO LET REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS WORK AS TEAMWORK AND TURN OUR NATION AROUND TOGETHER!!!WE CAN MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN TOGETHER..VOTE AND OUR PRAYERS GO TO THE FEMALE FARMERS PROJECT TOO.GOD BLESS YOU ALL,KEEP UP THIS GREAT WORK FOR OUR NATION.REINVESTING YOUR MONEY INTO YOUR INVESTMENTS IS A GREAT WAY TO GET WEALTHY TOO.

I love me some orange carrot juice and instead of juicing and losing all that pulp that has all the best nutrition in it why not instead blend with lots of liquid! This is one of my favorites to make and bring down to the pool its so refreshing when ice cold and tates so […]

THE PLAGUE OF WATER WAS DIRECTED AGAINST THE NILE THE LIFE AND HEART OF EGYPT.EGYPT WAS A DESERT COUNTRY, AND ITS ECONOMY AND LIVELIHOOD DEPENDED ON THE NILE.ITS CROPS WERE IRRIGATED BY THE NILE RIVER. AND ITS FIELDS DEPENDED ON FERTILE SOIL WASHED IN BY THE RIVER NILE THE NILE WAS A PRIMARY HIGHWAY FOR THE COUNTRY MUCH OF THE TRADE AND COMMERCE DEPENDED ON IT. SO WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS LIFEBLOOD OF THE NATION? THEN THE LORD SPOKE TO MOSES,SAY TO ARRON(MOSES BROTHER) WHO ACCOMPANIED HIM. TAKE YOUR ROD AND STRETCTH OUT YOUR HAND OVER THE WATERS OF EGYPT,OVER THEIR STREAMS,OVER THEIR RIVERS,OVER THEIR PONDS,AND OVER ALL THEIR PONDS OF WATER,THAT THEY MAY BECOME BLOOD.AND THERE SHALL BE BLOOD THROUGHOUT THE LAND OF EGYPT.BOTH IN BUCKETS OF WOOD AND PITCHERS OF STONE.AND MOSES AND HIS BROTHER AARON DID SO,JUST AS THE LORD COMMANDED.SO HE LIFTED UP THE ROD AND STRUCK THE WATERS THAT WERE IN THE RIVER,IN THE EYES OF PHAROAH AND IN THE EYES OF HIS SERVANTS.AND ALL THE WATERS THAT WERE IN THE RIVER TURNED TO BLOOD.WHILE THIS PLAGUE WAS PRIMARILY DIRECTED AGAINST THE NILE RIVER,IT WENT BEYOND THAT.ALL OTHER WATER SOURCES WERE AFFECTED,INCLUDING IRRIGATION STREAMS AND POOLS AND EVEN WATER STORED IN PICTURES AND BUCKETS IN PEOPLES HOMES. THIS WAS A TERRIBLE DISASTER FOR THE EGYPTIANS.THE WHOLE LIFEBLOOD OF THE COUNTRY WAS POISONED AND UNDRINKABLE.AND IF THAT WAS,NT BAD ENOUGH.THE FISH THAT WERE IN THE RIVER DIED ALSO. THE RIVER STANK ,AND THE EGYPTIANS COULD NOT DRINK THE WATER OF THE RIVER.SO THERE WAS BLOOD THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT.THIS WAS A COMPLETE DISASTER. THEIR SUPPLY OF DRINKING,BATHING,AND WASHING WAS NOW TOXIC MESS. THE FISH,ONE OF THEIR MAJOR FOOD SOURCES,WERE WIPED OUT. AND THIS WAS DEVASTAING TO THE COUNTRYSO.HOW WAS THIS A JUDGMENTAGAINST THE EGYPTIAN gods? BECAUSE THE NILE WAS SO IMPORTANT TO THE EGYPTIANS,THEY WORSHIPED SEVERAL GODS WHO WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR WATCHING OVER IT. THE GREAT GOD KHNUM,USUALLY REPRESENTED HIMSELF AS A MAN WITH A RAMS HEAD, KNOWN AS THE GIVER AND GUARDIAN OF THE RIVER NILE..ANOTHER gOD HAPI,THE SPIRIT OF THE NILE,WAS CREDITED WITH THE ANUAL NILE FLOOD THAT BROUGHT IN THOUSANDS OF TONS OF FRESH TOPSOIL TO REFERTILIZE THE LAND EVERY YEAR.HE WAS HONORED AS GOD OF FISHES,BIRDS,AND MARSHES,WHICH IS WHY OFTEN DEPICTED WITH MARSH PLANTS ON HIS HEAD.ALSO LINKED TO THE NILE FLOODWATERS WERE THE GODS SODPET AND SATET.ONE OF EGYPTS gods WAS OSIRIUS,GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD. THE EGYPTIANS SAW THE NILE RIVER AS HIS BLOODSTREAM-AND NOW IT WAS LITTERALLY LIKE BLOOD!!!. CAN YOU IMAGINE THE HORROR AND FEELINGS OF ABANDENMENT OF THE EGYPTIANS AS THEY LOOKED ON A FORMERLY BEAUTIFUL,POWERFUL AND LIFE SUSTAINING RIVER THAT WAS NOW A GIANT STHES STRUCK ALSO AT HATMEHIT GUARDIAN GODDESS OF FISH AND FISHERMEN.THESE GREAT gODS OF EGYPT PROVED POWERLESS TO PREVENT THIS GREAT PLAGUE ON THE NILE. THEY WERE SHOWN TO BE NOTHING WHEN COMPARED TO THE GOD OF ISRAEL..HES A GOD OF JUDGMENT! WHY DID GOD START WITH PLAGUES ON THE NILE?AND WHY DID HE CHOOSE A PLAGUE OF BLOOD? HES A GOD OF JUDGMENT AND JUSTICE.THE EGYPTIANS TOOK THOUSANDS OF TINY HELPLESS BABIES AND WOULD TOSS THEM INTO THE NILE TO DROWN THEM OR TO FEED THE CROCODILES AND FISH.(EXODUS1:22 THE EGYPTIANS HAD SOUGHT THE BLOOD OF HEBREWS,AND GOD ESSENTIALLY RESPONDED IF YOU WANT BLOOD ILL GIVE YOU BLOOD TO DRINK.’THE SECOND PLAGUE OF FROGS DESCRIBED IN THE FIRST PART OF EXODUS8TH THERE WERE LARGE NUMBERS OF FROGS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN UNUSUAL,BECAUSE THE NILE HAD PLENTY OF MARSHES THAT WERE A NATURAL BREEDING GROUND FOR FROGS.BUT THIS PLAGUE IS DIFFERENT.AND THE LORD SPOKE TO MOSES,GO TO PHAROAH AND SAY TO HIM,THUS SAYS THE LORD:LET MY PEOPLE GO,THAT THEY MAY COME SERVE ME. BUT IF YOU REFUSE TO LET THEM GO,BEHOLD,I WILL SMITE ALL YOUR TERRITORY WITH FROGS.SO THE RIVER WILL BRING FORTH FROGS ABUNDANTLY,WHICH SHALL GO UP AND COME INTO YOUR HOUSES,INTO YOUR BEDROOMS,ON YOUR BEDS,INTO THE HOMES OF YOUR SERVANTS,ON YOUR PEOPLE,INTO YOUR OVENS,AND INTO YOUR KNEADING BOWLS,VERSES1.3.FROGS WERE CONSIDERED A MANIFESTATION OF THE GODDESS HEQET,GODDESS OF BIRTH AND WIFE OF THE CREATOR OF THE WORLD. HEQET WAS DEPICTED WITH THE HEAD OF A FROG AND THE BODY OF A WOMAN.ALSO THE COURT OF HAPI INCLUDED CROCODILE GODS AND FROG GODDESSES.AND THE PRIMORDIAL GODS NUNKEK AND HEH WERE EACH DEPICTED AS A MAN WITH A FROGS HEAD.FROGS WERE VIEWED AS SACRED IN EGYPT BECAUSE THEY LIVED IN TWO WORLDS- IN WATER AND IN LAND. THEY WERE SO SACRED THAT EVEN ACCIDENTIALLY STEPPED ON ONE COULD BE PUNISHED BY DEATH.TWO GREAT IRONIES HERE HEQET WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE GODDESS WHO CONTROLS BIRTH,BUT IN THIS PLAGUE LITTERALLY MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF FROGS WERE OVERFLOWING WITH FROGS WERE OVERFLOWING THE LAND-THE FROG BIRTH RATE WAS OBVIOUSLY OUT OF CONTROL!!!. AND ACIDENTIALLY KILLING ONE BY STEPPING ON IT WAS PUNISHABLE BY DEATH. YET HOW COULD THAT BE AVOIDED WHEN THE GROUND WAS COVERED EVERYWHERE WITH SLIMY,CROAKING MASS OF BIG FROGS!!!.THERE WERE FROGS ON THE GROUND,FROGS IN THE HOUSES,FROGS IN THEIR BEDS,COOKING OVENS,AND FROGS IN THEIR COOKING BOWLS.THE EGYPTIANS LITTERALLY COULD NOT WALK WITHOUT STEPPING ON FROGS AND SQAUSHING THEM.BUT IN DOING THEY VIOLATED THEIR OWN LAWS AND SENTENCING THEMSELVES TO DEATH FOR OFFENDING THE GODDESS HEQET AND THESE OTHER FROG DEITIES!! FINALLY THE PEOPLE HAD TO GO OUT TO GATHER THEM IN MOUNDS OF DECAYING STINKING FROGS.SO MUCH FOR THEIR SACRED ANIMAL!! HERE GOD SHOWED THAT HE WAS FAR MORE POWERFUL THAN ALL THESE EGYPTIAN GODS!!THE PLAGUE OF LICE. THE THIRD PLAGUE,LICE, IS FOUND IN EXODUS 8:16-17.SO THE LORD SAID TO MOSES,SAY TO AARON,STRECTCH OUT YOUR ROD, ,AND STRIKE THE DUST OF THE LAND,SO THAT MAY BECOME LICE THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT.;”AND THEY DID SO. FOR AARON STRETCHED OUT HIS HAND WITH HIS ROD AND STRUCK THE DUST OF THE EARTH,AND IT BECAME LICE ON MANS AND HIS BEAST.ALL THE DUST OF THE LAND BECAME THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT.WHICH GOD OF EGYPT WAS NOW BEING JUDGED?THIS PLAGUE WAS PERHAPS DIRECTED IN SOME MEASURE AT GEB,THE GOD OF THE EARTH.EGYPTIANS GAVE OFFERINGS TO GEB FOR THE BOUNTY OF THE LAND-BUT IN THIS CASE,RATHER THAN BRINGING FORTH CROPS AND FRUITS AND VEGETABLES,IT BROUGHT FORTH ITCHING,BITING LICE.AND THEIR GOD GEB WAS SHOWN TO BE POWERLESS TO PREVENT IT!!!.THIS INFESTATION CAN ALSO BE SEEN AS A SLAP IN THE FACE OF THE EGYPTIAN GODS IN GENERAL,AS THEY WERE UNABLE TO WITHSTAND IT.EGYPTIANS INVOKED HAR-PA-KHERED(HORUS IN CHILD FORM)TO WARD OFF DANGEROUS CREATURES AND IMHOTEP AS GOD OF MEDINAL HEALING AS WELL AS OTHER HEALING GODS,BUT THERE WAS NO RELIEF.PHAROAH TOO WAS CONSIDERED A gOD,AS WE WILL CONSIDER MORE LATER,YET HE PERSONALLY AFFLICTED WITH LICE.ITS INTERESTING TOO HOW AFFLICTED THE PRIEST OF THE GODS OF EGYPT WERE.BECAUSE OF THE LICE,EGYPTIAN PRIEST COULD NO LONGER SERVE THEIR gODS.GOD WAS AGAIN SHOWING THEM EXACTLY WHOSE IN CHARGE!!!.THE GREEK HERODOTUS,WHO TRAVELED TO ANCIENT EGYPT,TELLS US THAT THE EGYPTIAN PRIESTS HAD TO PERFORM MANY CLEANLINESS RITUALS TO SERVE IN THEIR ROLE AS PRIESTS.SOME OF THESEWERE SPECIFICALLY TO AVOID BEING INFECTED WITH LICE,HICH WOULD PREVENT THEM FROM CARRYING OUT THEIR RELIGIOUS DUTIES IN SERVICE TO THEIR gODS.BUT NOW THE PRESENCE OF THESE LICE MEANT THAT THE EGYPTIANS PRIESTS COULD NO LONGER SERVE THEIR gODS.THEY COULD,NT EVEN GO INTO THE TEMPLES TO LEAD THE WORSHIP OF THE EGYPTIAN gODS BECAUSE THEY WERE NOW CONSIDERED UNSUITABLE TO PERFORM THEIR RITUALS!! SO THIS WAS A BLOW NOT ONLY AGAINST GEB AND THE OTHER EGYPTIAN gODS,BUT ALSO AGAINST ALL THE PAGAN PRIESTS OF EGYPT.AGAIN, GOD WAS SHOWING THEM EXACTLY WHO IS REALLY IN CHARGE!.AGAIN WE SEE IRONY IN THIS PLAGUE.THE LAND WAS INFECTED WITH LICE,MAKING EVERY PERSON AND ANIMAL MISERABLE,BUT THE PRIESTS OF EGYPT COULD NOT EVEN ENTER THEIR TEMPLES TO PRAY TO THEIR gODS DUE TO THEM NOW BEING UNSUITED TO SERVE BECAUSE OF LICE!!THE FOURTH PLAGUE OF FLIES.AND THE LORD SAID TO MOSES,RISE EARLY IN THE MORNING AND STAND BEFORE PHARAOH AS HE COMES OUT TO THE WATER.THEN SAY TO HIM, THUS SAYS THE LORD:LET MY PEOPLE GO, THAT THEY MAY SERVE ME,OR ELSE,IF YOU WILL NOT LET MY PEOPLE GO,BEHOLD I WILL SEND SWARMS OF FLIES ON YOU AND YOUR SERVANTS,ON YOUR PEOPLE AND IN ALL YOUR HOUSES,THE HOUSES OF THE EGYPTIANS SHALL BE FULL OF SWARMS OF FLIES,AND ALSO THE GROUND ON WHICH THEY STAND.”AND IN THAT DAY I WILL SET APART THE LAND OF GOSHEN,IN WHICH MY PEOPLE DWELL,THAT NO SWARMS OF FLIES SHALL BE THERE,IN ORDER THAT YOU MAY KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD IN THE MISTS OF THE LAND.I WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MY PEOPLE AND YOUR PEOPLE.TOMORROW THIS SIGN SHALL BE. THE PHRASE OF FLIES HERE ADDED BY TRANSLATORS AND ISNT IN THE HEBREW,WHICH SIMPLY USES THE WORD SWARMS IN THIS PASSAGE WERE SWARMS OF ANOTHER FLYING INSECT THAT THE EGYPTIANS CONSIDERED HOLY-THE SCARAB BEETLE.THESE WERE ACTUALLY DUNG BETLES THAT FED ON FERTILIZER!! SCARAB BEETLES COULD ALSO VERY DESTRUCTIVE,BECAUSE THEY HAD MANDIBLES THAT COULD SAW THROUGH WOOD. THIS PLAGUE WAS DIRECTED AT A PARTICULAR GOD OF EGYPT THE EGYPTIAN GOD KHEPER WAS DEPICTED AS A MAN WITH A DUNG BEETLE IN PLACE OF HIS HEAD.KHEPER WAS THE GOD WHO PUSSED THE SUN ACROSS THE SKY.HE WAS ASSOIATED WITH THE DUNG BEETLE BECAUSE DUNG BEETLES WOULD ROLL MANURE INTO SPERICAL BALLS AND PUSH THESE AROUND ON THE GROUND,SIMULAR TO HOW KHEPER PUSHED THE SUN ACROSS THE SKY. THE EGYPTIANS ALSO CONSIDERED THE SCARAB BEETLE AS DIVINE SINCE THEY EMERGED FROM DEAD ANIMALS OR MANURE AND THUS WERE VIEWED AS BEING CREATED FROM DEAD MATTER.BECAUSE OF THIS THEY CAME TO BE ASSOIATED WITH REBIRTH AND RESSURECTION. THE EGYPTIANS DIDNT REALIZE THAT THE BEETLES SIMPLY LAID THEIR EGGS IN DEAD ANIMALS AND MANURE,AND THAT THEY HATCHED OUT LATER. IT CERTAINLY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH BEING DIVINE!!. SO WHEN THESE SWARMS OF CREATURES INVADED THE LAND AND GOT INTO EVERYTHING LIKE THE EARLIER PLAGUES OF LICE AND FROGS,THIS WAS A DIRECT AFFRONT TO THE GOD KHEPER.KHEPER WAS SHOWN TO BE INCAPABLE OF CONTROLLING THE HIGHLY DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS THAT WERE CHEWING THEIR WAY THROUGH THE EGYPTIAN HOUSES AND BUILDING.WE MIGHT ALSO NOTE THE SUPREME GOD AMUN,GOD OF THE WIND, WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BLOW THE SWARMS AWAY.THE TRUE GOD HERE SHOWED YET MORE EGYPTIAN GODS TO BE UTTERLY POWERLESS.AND NOTE ALSO THAT THIS IS THE FIRST PLAGUE IN WHICH GOD MADE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN HIS PEOPLE AND THE EGYPTIANS.THE ISRAELITES SUFFERED THE PREVIOUS PLAGUES ALONGSIDE THE EGYPTIANS.BUT NOW GOD KEPT THIS REMAINING PLAGUES AWAY FROM GOSHEN,WHERE HIS PEOPLE LIVED.THE FIFTH PLAGUE OF DISEASE TO LIVESTOCK.BEGINNING IN EXODUS9:1 WAS DIRECTED AGAINST,S DOMESTIC ANIMALS.THEN THE LORD SAID TO MOSES, GO IN TO PHAROAH AND TELL HIM,THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD OF THE HEBREWS:LET MY PEOPLE GO THAT THEY MAY SERVE ME.”FOR IF YOU REFUSE TO LET THEM GO,AND STILL HOLD THEM,BEHOLD THE HAND OF THE LORD WILL BE ON YOUR CATTLE IN THE FIELD,ON THE HORSES,AND ON YOUR DONKEYS,ON THE CAMELS,ON OXEN,AND ON YOUR SHEEP-A VERY SEVERE PESTILENCE.AND THE LORD WILL MAKE A DIFFRENCE BETWEEN THE LIVESTOCK OF ISRAEL AND THE LIVESTOCK OF EGYPT,SO NOTHING SHALL DIE OF ALL THAT BELONGS TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.”THIS PLAGUE CREATED AN ENORMOUS DISASTER FOR THE EGYPTIANS IT AFFECTED THEIR FOOD,TRANSPORTATION,MILITARY CAPABILITY,FARMING CAPACITY AND ECONOMIC GOODS THAT WERE PRODUCED BY THE LIVESTOCK.BUT PHAROAHS HEART REMAINED HARDENED. CATTLE IN EGYPT WERE NOT HIGHLY VALUED,THEY WERE AL SO CONSIDERED SACRED.THE EGYPTIANS WORSHIPED MANY ANIMALS,AND AMONG THEM WERE BULLS,AND HEIFERS. THE CREATION god PTAH WAS REPRESENTED BY A LIVING BULL KNOWN AS THE APIS BULL. THE APIS BULL WAS SACRED,AND WHEN IT DIED THE EGYPTIANS MOURNED AS THOUGH THEY HAD JUST LOST A PHAROAH.AFTER DEATH,THE APIS BULL WAS EMBALMED AND PLACED IN A TOMB LIKE A PHAROAH. THE CREATOR SUN gods ATUM AND RE, BLENDED AS THE SAME DEITY,WERE REPRESENTED BY THE BLACK BULL MER-WER OR NEM-WER(CALLED BY THE GREEKS MNEVIS).SKY AND CREATION goddesses NUT AND NEITH WERE DEPICTED AS A CELESTIAL COW GIVING BIRTH TO THE UNIVERSE AND OTH ER gods.ONE OF EGYPTS GREATEST MOTHER goddesses WAS HATHOR DEPICTED AS A COW HEADED goddess OR A FEMALE WITH COW LIKE FEATURES. HATHOR WAS NORMALLY DEPICTED WITH A PAIR OF HORNS WITH THE SOLAR DISKS BETWEEN THEM. SHE WAS VIEWED AS THE SYMBOLIC MOTHER OF PHAROAH. IN THIS PLAGUE THESE VARIOUS gods OF EGYPT WERE POWERLESS TO PROTECT THE CATTLE AND LIVESTOCK OF THE EGYPTIANS. KEEP IN MIND THAT AS EACH PLAGUE WAS SENT,THE EGYPTIANS PROBABLY PRAYED TO THEIR gods TO STOP THE PLAGUES,BUT EVERY CASE THEIR gods WERE POWERLESS AND SILENT.THE SIX PLAGUE OF BOILS.SO THE LORD SAID TO MOSES AND AARON TAKE YOURSELVES HANDFULS OF ASH FROM A FURNACE, AND LET MOSES SCATTER IT TOWARDS THE HEAVENS IN THE SIGHT OF PHAROAH,AND IT WILL BECOME FINE DUSTS IN ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT,THEN THEY TOOK ASHES FROM A FURNACE AND STOOD BEFORE PHAROAH AND MOSES SCATTERED THEM TOWARD THE HEAVENS AND THEY BECAME BOILS THAT BREAK OUT INTO SORES ON MAN AND BEASTS,AND THE MAGICIANS COULD NOT STAND BEFORE MOSES BECAUSE OF THE BOILS,FOR THE BOILS WHERE THE MAGICIANSAND ON ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT. THE EGYPTIANS WORSHIPPED SEVERAL HEALING DEITIES ON OCCASSION EVEN SACRAFICING HUMAN BEINGS TO THEM.THE VICTIMS WERE BURNED ON AN ALTAR,AND THE ASHES WERE CAST IN THE AIR,WHERE THE WIND WOULD BLOW THE ASHES OVER THE PEOPLE.THIS WAS VIEW AS A BLESSING TO THEM.MOSES TOOK ASHES FROM THE FURNACE THREW IT IN THE AIR.THE ASHES WERE SCATTERED BY THE WIND AND FELL ON THE PRIESTS,PEOPLE AND ANIMALS WERE LEFT.BUT RATHER THAN A BLESSING,THIS TURNED INTO PAINFUL BOILS LARGE SORES ON PEOPLE.THIS PLAGUE WOULD HAVE BEEN AN AFFRONT TO A NUMBER OF EGYPTIAN gODS OF HEALING.ONE,EARLIER MENTIONED WAS IMHOTEP,gOD OF MEDICINE.ANOTHER WAS THOTH THE IBIS HEADED gOD OF INTELLIGENCE AND MEDICAL LEARNING.ANOTHER WAS NEFERTEM,gOD OF HEALING.STILL ANOTHER WAS ISIS,ANOTHER FIGURE IN THE EGYPTIAN TRINITY AND WIFE OF OSIRIS.SHE WAS SUPPOSEDLY ABLE TO BRING OSIRIS BACK TO LIFE AFTER HIS DEATH,BUT SHE WAS POWERLESS TO PROTECT OR HELP THE EGYPTIANS FROM THE PAINFUL BOILS THAT HAD BROKEN OUT ALL OVER.THE MAGICIANS SUFFERED FROM THE BOILS.PRIESTS WITH THEIR MAGICAL POWERS,ESPECIALLY THOSE IN THE CULT OF SEKHMET,YET ANOTHER gODDESS OF HEALING BESIDES HER ROLE AS WAR gODDESS,WERE THE DOCTORS OF ANCIENT EGYPT.HOWEVER THE MAGICIANS SUFFERED HORRIBLY FROM THE BOILS THAT THEY COULD BARE STAND,LET ALONE USE THE POWERS OF THEIR APPARENTLY POWERLESS gODS TO HEAL OTHERS.THE SEVENTH PLAGUE OF HAIL.THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY UNUSUAL,AS THE REGION WHERE THIS TOOK PLACE RECEIVE ONLY ABOUT TWO INCHES PER YEAR.THEN THE LORD SAID TO MOSES,STRETCH OUT YOUR HAND TOWARD HEAVEN THAT THERE MAY BE HAIL IN ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT.ON MAN AND BEASTS,AND ON EVERY HERB OF THE FIELD,THROUGHOUT THE LAND OF EGYPT.’AND MOSES STRETCHED OUT HIS ROD TOWARD HEAVEN,AND THE LORD SENT HAIL STRUCK EVERY HERB OF THE FIELD(EXODUS9:22-25).WHICH EGYPTIAN gODS OR gODDESSES DID THIS PLAGUE EXPOSE AS POWERLESS AND WORTHLESS? SINCE THE PLAGUE ORIGINATED WITH THE SKY,THE MOSTS PROMINENT DEITY DISCREDITED BY THIS PLAG UE WAS NUT,THE SKY gODDESS MENTIONED EARLIER,SHE IS DEPICTED IN EGYPTIAN ART AS ARCHING OVER THE EARTH,HER BODY PAINTED WITH STARS.BUT NUT WAS,NT THE ONLY EGYPTIAN gOD DISCREDITES BY THE PLAGUE.WHERE WAS SHU?THE gOD OF AIR AND BEARER OF HEAVEN?WHY DID,NT HE STOP THIS DEVASTATING STORM?AND WHERE WAS HORUS THE HAWK HEADED THIRD MEMBER OF THE EGYPTIAN TRINITY AND SKY gOD OF UPPER EGYPT?AND WHAT ABOUT SETH,gOD OF STORMS AND PROTECTOR OF CROPS? OR NEPER,gOD OF GRAIN CROPS? OR AGAIN,OSIRIS WHO WAS RULER OF LIFE AND VEGETATION?THIS PLAGUE WAS ANOTHER DEVASTATING ATTACK ON THE COUNTRY.THE EGYPTIANS HAD ALREADY LOSTS THEIR FISH DIET WHEN THE NILE TURNED TO BLOOD.THE PLAGUE ON THE LIVESTOCK KILLED AS MUCH OF IT,AND ANIMALS STILL IN THE FIELD AT THE TIME OF THIS HAILSTORM WERE KILLED BY THE HAIL,SO THE EGYPTIANS HAVE NOW LOSTS MUCH OF THEIR SOURCES OF MEAT AND MILK.AND STILL,THE VARIOUS COW DEITIES MENTIONED EARLIER COULD DO NOTHING. THE FLAX THATS MENTIONED HERE WAS THE EGYPTIONS MAJOR SOURCE OF FIBER FOR LINEN CLOTHING.SO THEY LOSTS NOT ONLY THEIR ABILITY TO FEED THEMSELVES BUT ALSO THEIR PRIMARY MATERIAL FOR CLOTHING THEMSELVES AS WELL.THE EIGHTH PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS THE PLAGUE OF HAIL HAD WIPED OUT THE CROPS AND MOSTS PLANT,S, BUT THE LITTLE THAT HAD SURVIVED WOULD NOW BE DEVOURED BY LOCUSTS.THEN THE LORD SAID TO MOSES STRETCH OUT YOUR HAND OVER THE LAND OF EGYPT FOR THE LOCUSTS,THAT THEY MAY COME…AND EAT EVERY HERB OF THE LAND-.ALL THAT HAS LEFT,SO MOSES STRETCHED OUT HIS ROD OVER THE LAND OF EGYPT…AND THE LOCUSTS WENT UP OVER ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT…THEY COVERED THE FACE OF THE EARTH, SO THAT THE LAND WAS DARKENED;AND THEY ATE EVERY HERB OF THE LAND AND ALL THE FRUIT OF THE TREES WHICH THE HAIL HAD LEFT ‘EXODUS10:12-15).HISTORY HAD DOCUMENTED HOW SWARMS OF LOCUSTS HAVE DESTROYED VILLAGES;FOOD SUPPLIES IN MATTER OF MINUTES,THEY SIMPLY DEVOURED EVERYTHING THAT WAS GREEN-AND EVERY SINGLE BLADE OF GRASS.AGAIN AS WITH THE PRECEEDING PLAGUES, THE gODS OF EGYPT WERE SILENT.YOU HAVE TO WONDER WHAT THEIR WORSHIPERS THOUGHT AS THEY SAW THE DEVASTATION.WHERE WAS THE JACKAL ,HEADED GUARDIAN OF THE FIELDS,ANUBIS? AGAIN,WHAT ABOUT THE CHEIF AGRICULTURE gOD OSIRIS?ONCE MORE HE,ISIS AND NEPER ARE ALL DEFIED-AS ARE SHU,gOD OF THE AIR,AND AMUN,gOD OF THE WIND.THE DEVASTATED FIELDS BATTERED BY HAIL AND BURNED BY FIRE,NOW STRIPPED BARE BY LOCUSTS,TESTIFIED OF THE IMPOTENCE OF THE gODS.THE NINTH PLAGUE,IN EXODUS10:21-23 THEN THE LORD SAID TO MOSES,STRETCH OUT YOUR HAND TOWARD HEAVEN,THAT THERE MAY BE DARKNESS OVER ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT.DARKNESS WHICH MAY EVEN BE FELT,SO MOSES STRETCHED OUT HIS HAND TOWARD HEAVEN,THERE WAS THICK DARKNESS IN ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT THREE DAYS.BUT ALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL HAD LIGHT IN THEIR DWELLINGS.IMAGINE THE ENTIRE WORLD AS YOU KNOW IT SUDDENLY GOING SO DARK THAT YOU CANT SEE ANYTHING.YOU CANT SEE OTHER MEMBERS OF YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY.YOU CANT SEE ANYTHING IN YOUR HOUSES.THE TABLE,STOOLS,YOUR BEDS,YOUR FOOD,THE DOORWAY,THE WINDOWS,YOUR FIELDS,ANYTHING.THE ENTIRE WORLD HAS GONE BLACK. AND THIS DARKNESS IS PALPABLE.YOU CAN SOMEHOW FEEL IT PRESSING IN ON YOU FROM ALL AROUND.THIS GOES ON FOR A DAY AND A NIGHT. FOR PEOPLE USED TO BRIGHT SUNSHINE 365 DAYS A YEAR,THIS HAD TO BE TERRIFYING!!!THIS PLAGUE OF DARKNESS WAS A JUDGMENT ON EGYPTS RELIGION AND ENTIRE CULTURE.OF ALL THE gODS OF EGYPT,NONE WERE MORE WORSHIPPED AS MUCH AS THE SUN.THE SUN gOD VARIOUSLY KNOWN AS RE RA,ATUM,OR ATEN,SOMETIMES CALLED HORUS HAD BECOME IDENTIFIED WITH THE SUPREME gOD AMUN. RA WAS CONSIDERED THE GREATEST OF THE gODS OF EGYPT.HE WAS VIEWED AS A CREATOR,THE GIVER OF LIFE,WHO FLOODED THE LAND WITH ENERGIZING RAYS. MANY OF THE PHAROAHS INCORPORATED HIS NAME INTO THEIR NAMES-NAMES LIKE RAMESSES DRAWN FORTH OF RA,AMEN HOTEP IS PLEASED AND TUTANKHAMUN LIVING IMAGE OF AMUN. BUT IN THE DARKNESS AMON RA WAS SILENT.HE WAS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN,LITERALLY NOTHING WAS VISABLE IN THE SMOLDERING DARKNESS THAT COVERED THE LAND.NOT ONLY WERE ALL OF EGYPTS OTHER gODS AND gODDESSES POWERLESS.BUT THEIR GREATESTS AND MOSTS IMPORTANT gO-D,AMON-RA WAS JUSTS AS POWERLESS AND USELESS TO HELP THEM.AGAIN THE EGYPTIAN gODS HAD FAILED THEM.THE PLAGUE OF THE FIRSTS BORN WAS VERY SELECTIVE.THE EGYPTIAN FIRSTBORN,BOTH HUMAN AND ANIMAL.THEN MOSES SAID,THUS SAYS THE LORD:’ ABOUT MIDNIGHT I WILL GO OUT INTO THE MIDSTS OF EGYPT;AND ALL THE FIRSTBORN IN THE LAND OF EGYPT SHALL DIE, FROM THE FIRSTBORN OF PHAROAH WHO SITS ON HIS THRONE,EVEN THE FIRSTBORN OF THE FEMALE SERVANT WHO IS BEHIND THE HANDMILL,AND ALL THE FIRSTBORN OF THE ANIMALS,THEN THERE SH BE A GREAT CRY THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT,SUCH AS WAS NOT LIKE IT BEFORE NOR SHALL BE LIKE IT AGAIN. EXODUS11:4-6.WHY THE FIRSTBORN?GOD CONSIDERED ISRAEL HIS OWN FIRSTBORN AMONG THE NATIONS AND WARNED OF THE RETRIBUTION ON EGYPT.EXODUS 4:22-23 IN THAT TIME AND CULTURE,THE FIRSTBORN RECEIVED THE GREATER SHARE OF THE FATHERS INHERITANCE.THE FIRSTBORN GENERALLY BECAME THE COUNTRYS ELITE.THE GENERALS AND MILITARY OFFICERSTHE CHEIF ADMINISTRATORS AND UNUSUALLY THE PHAOAHS THEMSELVES, THIS PARTICULAR PHAROAH APPARENTLY WAS,NT A FIRSTBORN,SINCE HE DID,NT DIE IN THE PLAGUE,PERHAPS HIS OLDER BROTHER HAD DIED AT A YOUNGER AGE AND THIS PHAROAH WAS NEXT IN LINE,BUT HIS SON WAS IN LINE TO BE THE NEXT PHAROAH,AND HE PERISHED IN THE PLAGUE. AGAIN,THE gODS OF EGYPT WERE SILENT,SERKET THE gODDESS OF PROTECTION,WAS PROVEN POWERLESS.MESHKENET,THE gODDESS WHO PRESIDED AT THE BIRTH OF THE CHILDREN,FAILED TO SAVE THE FIRSTBORN. SOBEK,gOD OF PROTECTION AND FERTILITY WHO EPTIOMIZED THE MIGHT OF THE PHAROAHS, COULD,NT PROTECT ANYONE.RENENUTET THE gOD WHO APPEARED AS A VULTURE,THE SPECIAL PROTECTOR gOD OF THE PHAROAH,COULD NOT PROTECT THE PHAROAHS SON WHO WOULD BE THE NEXT PHAROAH.AND AGAIN WAS OSIRIS,THE GIVER AND RULER OF LIFE?.WITH THIS PLAGUE,THE EGYPTIAN PHAROAH FINALLY RELENTED AND LET THE ISRAELITES GO. THIS FORCING OF PHAROAH TO ACT AGAINST HIS WILL WOULD DEMONSTRATE GODS,OVERTHROW OF HIS SOVEREINEIGNITY AND OF GODS WHO REPRESENTED IT;HU,THE gOD PERSONIFYING ROYAL AUTHORITY;WADJET,THE gODDESS OF ROYAL AUTHORITY;MAAT,gODDESS OF COSMIC ORDER UNDER WHOSE AEGIS THE RULERS OF EGYPT GOVERN;AND THE WAR gODDESS SEKHMET WHO WOULD SUPPOSEDLY BREATHE FIRE AGAINST THE ENIMIES OF PHAROAH. ALL THESE FALSE gODS WERE JUDGED AND PROVEN POWERLESS AND WORTHLESS. THE DEATH OF THE FIRSTS BORN WAS THE LASTS PLAGUE,BUT IT WAS NOT THE FINAL JUDGMENT ON THE gODS OF EGYPT.ONE MORE MAJOR gOD REMAINED TO BE FURTHER JUDGE AND PROVEN TO BE NO gOD AT ALL. AFTER THE ISRAELITES AT LASTS LEFT EGYPT.PHAROAH ONCE AGAIN CHANGED HIS MIND.HE SET OUT WITH 6OO OF HIS BESTS CHARIOTS PLUS ALL THE OTHER CHARIOTS OF EGYPT. POSSIBLY SEVERAL THOUSAND IN ALL-TO RETURN THE ISRAELITES TO SLAVERY,THE EGYPTIANS CORNERED THE ISRAELITES AT THE SEA,BUT GOD DELAYED THEM BY A PILLAR OF FIRE AND CLOUD WHILE THE ISRAELITES CROSSED THROUGH ON DRY LAND TO THE OTHER SIDE.AFTER THE ISRAELITES WERE ACROSS,GOD LIFTED THE PILLAR AND CLOUD,AND THEN HE BROUGHT JUDGMENT ON THE LASTS OF EGYPTS MAJOR gODS.THAT GOD WAS NONE OTHER THAN PHAROAH HIMSELF. THE PHAROAHS WERE CONSIDERED LITERAL SONS OF RA OR THE DIVINE INCARNATION OF HORUS, WHICH MEANT THAT THEY TOO, WERE CONSIDERED TO BE gODS HERE ON EARTH. IN A WAY,THEY WERE THOUGHT TO EMBODY ALL THE gODS OF EGYPT AND TO BE THEIR REPRESENTATIVE TO THE EGYPTIAN PEOPLE. THATS HOW THEY WIELDED SO MUCH POWER OVER THE PEOPLE-THE POWER OF LIFE AND DEATH AND TO ENSLAVE. AND THATS WHY THEY BUILT SUCH GREAT MONUMENTS TO THEMSELVES AND SUCH FABULOUS TOMBS FILLED WITH RICHES AND TREASSURE,THESE WERE TO HONOR gODS,IT WAS THOUGHT,NOT MERE MEN.A PHAROAH,S GREATESTS RESPONSIBILITIES WAS TO KEEP EVERYTHING IN ORDER A MANIFESTATION OF MEAT, TO ENSURE THAT THE DOZENS OF EGYPTIANS gODS AND gODDESSES PERFORMED THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES WELL SO THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT WOULD REMAIN PROSPEROUS AND STRONG.BUT THIS PHAROAH FAILED SPETACULARLY. HE COULD NOT WITHSTAND THE PLAGUES THAT DEVASTATED HIS KINGDOM AND PLUNGED IT INTO CHAOS. HE COULD,NT PREVENT THE DEATH OF HIS OWN SON.AND HE COULD,NT PREVENT HIS FORCES FROM DROWNING IN THE RED SEA.HE AND HIS MIGHTY KINGDOM WERE LEFT UTTERLY BROKEN AND ASHAMED.THE LASTS OF THE GREAT gODS OF EGYPT WAS TRIED IN THE BALANCE,JUDGED AND FOUND WANTING!! ALL THIS CONSIDERED WE SEE THAT THE PLAGUES ON EGYPT WAS NOT RAMDOM. GOD IS A GOD OF LOGIC AND ORDER. HE SENT EACH ONE OF THE PLAGUES TO SPECIFICALLY SHOW THE EGYPTIANS THAT HE WAS THE GREATER THAN ALL THE gODS OF EGYPT.TAKEN TOGETHER THE TEN PLAGUES PROVIDED A COMPREHENSIVE DEFEAT OF THE ENTIRE EGYPTIAN PATHEON, JUSTS AS GOD HAD PROMISED.THIS WAS TRULY AN EPIC WAR BETWEEN THE ONE TRUE GOD AND THE DEMONIC FORCES OF DARKNESS.THE TRUE GOD WON;EGYPT,S gODS LOSTS.BUT WHY? SUCH FALSE gODS DO NOT REALLY EXISTS,AND THE FALSE gODS DECEIVING PEOPLE INTO BELEIVING THEY DO EXISTS ARE NO MATCH FOR THE GOD OF THE BIBLE.

YOU CANT DEPEND ON YOUR EYES WHEN YOUR LIFE AND VIEW OF GOD IS OUT OF FOCUS.’TEN YEAR OLD JOHNNY WAS CHALLENGED BY HIS TEACHER TO RECITE THE PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION WITHOUT INTERRUPTION.IF HE COLD DO IT,HIS TEACHER PROMISED TO TREAT HIM TO A SCOOP OF ICE CREAM,IN THE FLAVOR OF HIS CHOICE.JOHNNY BEGAN WITH TREMENDOUS VIGOR,RATTLING OFF JEFFERSON,S WORDS WITH GREAT RAPIDLY.HALFWAY THROUGH HIS ASSIGNMENT,WITHOUT MISSING A WORD-HE QUICKLY SLIPPED IN WAS THAT A SINGLE OR DOUBLE SCOOP?;THEN WITHOUT CATCHING HIS BREATH,HE CONTINUED TO THE LAST WORD.WITHOUT REALIZING HE HAD LOSTS,HE CONFIDENTLY FINISHED AND SAID STRAWBERRY.JOHNNY GOT AN A FOR EFFORT,AN F FOR FOCUS.WHEN IT COMES TO FOCUS ON LIFE.MANY OF US HAVE ATTENTION DEFICIT.WE ARE EASILY DISTRACTED FROM WHAT WE CLAIM IS MOST’S SIGNIFICANT IN OUR LIVES.JESUS WAS INTENSELY FOCUSED.IT SAYS HE SET HIS FACE TO GO TO JERUSALEM.’JERUSALEM WAS THE PLACE WHERE HE WOULD GIVE HIS LIFE SO OTHERS COULD GAIN ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH HIM GOING TO JERUSALEM WAS THE HEART OF JESUS MISSION.IT WAS THERE HE KNEW HE WOULD COMPLETE HIS LIFE’S WORK.IT WAS FOR THIS PURPOSE HE CAME INTO THE ARENA OF HUMAN LIFE.FOCUS IS ONE OF THE MOST,S SIGNIFICANT TOOLS FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS. WE SEE THAT WHEN JESUS WAS FOCUSED ON HIS PATH AND DIRECTION, HE SAW IT WITH DISTINCTIVENESS AND CLARITY.HIS MISSION AND GOAL IN HIS LIFE WAS WHERE HIS ENERGY AND HIS INTERESTS WERE DIRECTED,HE WAS COMPLETELY FOCUSED ON HIS WORK. WITHOUT FOCUS,WE APPROACH LIFE,RELATIONSHIPS AND OUR WORK HALF HEAREDLY.THEN WE STAND BACK AND WONDER WHY WE HAVE HALF HEARTED RESULTS!! DEEP WITHIN OUR OWN HEARTS WE KNOW WHY!! THE UNWRIITEN PRINSIPLE OF GOD’S KINGDOM IS THAT IN LIFE.WE RECEIVE IN DIRECT PROPORTION TO WHAT WE GIVE. ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES IS OF A MAN WHO SOUGHT WISDOM.HE WENT TO THE HILLS,WHERE HE WAS TOLD THERE WAS A WISE OLD MAN WHO COULD HELP HIM AFTER FINDING THE OLD MAN,THE YOUNGER ASKED WHAT VIRTUE MUSTS I POSSESS TO OBTAIN WISDOM IN MY LIFE? TO HIS SURPRISE,THE OLD MAN SAT SILENT AND MOTIONLESS,THE YOUNG MAN REPEATED THE QUESTION,BUT THE MAN CONTINUED TO BE MOTIONLESS AND SILENT,FINNALLY THE OLD MAN ROSE TO HIS FEET AND MOTION THE YOUNG MAN TO FOLLOW. THE OLD MAN CAME TO A POND AND WADED INTO THE WATER UP TO HIS WAISTS.HE BECKENED THE YOUNG MAN TO FOLLOW HIM. PUZZLED BY THE OLD MANS ACTIONS,YET AFRAID TO OBEY,HE WADED OUT TO HIS MENTOR.THE OLD MAN SUDDENLY PUSHED HIM UNDER THE WATER. HE HELD HIM UNDER THE WATER FOR WHAT SEEMED LIKE ETERNITY. WHEN HE WAS FINALLY RELEASED,THE YOUNG MAN GASPED BITTERLY’ WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME? CALMLY THE WISE MAN WALKED BACK TO SHORE.HE SAT DOWN AGAIN AND THEN HE SPOKE.MY SON WHEN YOU WANT WISDOM AS MUCH AS YOU DID THAT BREATH YOU WILL FIND IT.” IMAGINE WHAT GIFTS AWAIT US IF WE FOCUS ON THE WITH MY THINGS WE WANT IN LIFE AS MUCH AS WE NEED THE NEXT BREATH OF AIR!!!. THE PURPOSE OF FOCUS IS TO START A TASKS,TO WORK ON IT, THEN TO BRING IT TO THE TASKS OF COMPLETION.IT IS THE COMPLETION THAT IS HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT,IN MY WORK CLIENTS,AND IN MY PERSONAL LIFE,I FIND THAT YOU CAN HAVE A WEAK BEGINNING AND STILL FINISH STRONG.THINK OF THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE!! THOSE WHO ARE MOSTS FOCUSED ON THEIR OWN HEALING AND PERSISTENT IN WORKING TOWARD IT ARE THE ONES WHO WILL FIND WHOLENESS IN THEIR LIVES.WHEN JAMES CAME TO SEE ME.HE WAS COMPLETELY SCATTERED IN HIS THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS.HE WAS PROUD OF BEING A SELF DESCRIBED JACK OF ALL TRADES, AND MASTER OF NONE.’YET AS WE TALKED,IT WAS CLEAR THAT HE WAS OVERWHELMED.HIS SCATTERED ENERGY WAS WASTED ON TOO MANY EFFORTS.JAMES BEGAN TO REALIZE HOW NOT MASTERING ANYTHING IN LIFE WAS IMPACTING HIM NEGATIVELY.HE DID,NT DO ANYTHING WELL!! HE DECIDED TO FOCUS ON WHAT HE WANTED TO ACCOMPLISH IN LIFE,AND GET RID OF OTHER DISTRACTIONS.ONCE HE IMPLEMENTED HIS DECISION,HIS LIFE IMPROVED,AND HE WAS HAPPIER.JAMES LEARNED THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR FOCUS.WE OFTEN FOCUS ON THE IMMEDIATE AND THE PRESSING.RATHER THAN ON WHAT IS MOSTS IMPORTANT.WE ANSWER THE PHONE BECAUSE ITS RINGING IRRITATES US.WE ARE DISTRACTED BY FALSE URGENCIES.THE SMALL AND PRETTY THINGS IN LIFE HINDER US FROM WORKING ON THE BIGGER PICTURE.THIS BREAKS OUR FOCUS AND STIFLES OUR ENERGY,AND WE FAIL TO REACH OUR GOALS.I ONCE ASKED THE PRESIDENT OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL I WAS ATTENDING IF HE WOULD SPEAK AT A MEN,S RETREAT I WAS SPONSORING. HE QUICKLY SAID NO,AND I WAS OFFENDED. HE EXPLAINED WHAT HIS RESPONSIBILITIES AT THE SCHOOL WERE WHAT PREVENTED HIM FROM COMING,

As many people know, I’m a Vital Proteins Ambassador and have been using Vital Proteins Collagen for over a year now. Each month, Vital Proteins sends me products to try, and I share my favorites or answer questions people have. I’ve already been using Vital Proteins for over a year, and I find I genuinely recover […]

The crop! These are off one scraggy bush in the garden that was surrounded by stinging nettles. There is one red one somewhere in the jug from another bush but that one didn’t fruit well and we only found the one. I’m thinking if making a gooseberry and apple pie or cake. I think I’ve […]